A 20-year-old convicted female murderer identified as Sia Kemba has won the first edition of a beauty pageant named ‘Miss Correctional’ in Sierra Leone.
A Sierra Leone prison conducted a beauty pageant named “Miss Correctional” which allowed 10 convicted criminals across the country to partake in the beauty pageant.
Out of the 10 contestants that participated, 8 of them were accused of murder or manslaughter.
During the events, the contestants did the catwalk and introduced themselves to the panel of judges.
At the end of the night, inmate Sia Kemba was announced as the winner of Miss Correctional.
The beauty queen is serving a 5-year jail term for killing her partner with whom she has a two-year-old child. She has 15 months of her jail term remaining.
Speaking during an interview with the BBC, Sia said:
“I am very happy about winning. Now I know society considers us even though we are in jail. It gives me hope and the crown makes me feel that I am out of prison. We know that when we eventually walk free, we will become better people.
“Now I want to show off the crown but I am in prison,” she continued.
She further revealed that when she leaves prison, she wants to return to school and she also wants to “make peace with the family whose son I killed. It was a mistake but I know I have wronged them.”